Little bit confused

B

blankenship

AC Members
Sep 27, 2004
173
0
0
Ok, so I thought I had this whole cycle thing under control, but now I'm confused. Things were going along great. After about 3 weeks or so I had a big Nitrite spike, and Nitrates started to show up in good amounts. It was taking less than 8 hours to go through 5ppm ammonia. So every time the ammonia reached 0 i brought it back up to 5 (about every 6 hours).

THEN, my friend stayed over and unplugged EVERYTHING cause it was too loud. So, mainly, the filter and heater were off for 8 hours.

Now the tank is taking 8-12 hours to go through 5ppm of ammonia.

So here are my questions:

1) Will having the filter and heater off for 8 hours mess up the cycle?
2) I haven't tested yet, but will this cause a major PH change effecting the cycle?
3) If everything is ok, do I still bring the ammonia level back to 5ppm after it is all consumed or do I bring it back to a lesser amount?

Its been a little over 4 weeks of cycling now, and it would really stink if it was all ruined because everything got unplugged. I want some fish :(
 
1) Won't take you back to zero--the fact that the ammonia still disappears so quickly indicates the bacteria are alive. The nitrite spike typically lingers the longest, then goes away seemingly overnight.

2) Shouldn't cause a change in the pH--unless your KH starts dropping. The cycle can burn through the buffer (lots of biological activity with no replenishment via water changes), but everything being unplugged won't impact that.

3) You can likely reduce the amount of ammonia you're adding. The goal of 5ppm creates a much bigger bacteria bed that the eventual fish will produce, so reducing now won't be a big deal when you do get to add fish.
 
Thanks, that makes me feel better. So basically I just need to keep an eye on the nitrites and wait for it to drop. Then I assume I should be good to go.

What is a good KH reading? and I know this may be in the wrong forum now but will adding plants and CO2 effect the PH or KH?
 
Yes, adding CO2 will likely lower the pH and KH--CO2 is an acid. You'll want to monitor the KH, and possibly supplement it. I think--could be wrong--that if your KH is above about 4 degrees, you should be okay with regular water changes. Below 3, and you may need to supplement it. The KH plays a part in how stable the pH will be--basically how easily the pH resists increase or decreases. KH can be supplemented in a number of ways, but see what you have before adding anything, and keep monitoring as you add CO2.
 
Baking soda, or crushed coral, shells, etc. It all depends though--without knowing where the water is at now, there's no way to predict if it will be needed. I have CO2 on 2 of my tanks, and my KH is high enough that weekly water changes keep them stable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom